New emojis. Do you need to hear anything else? Apple just released an iOS update. iOS 11.1 is the first feature update for iOS 11. It adds a couple of new things, starting with dozens of new emojis.
Apple already previewed some of the new emojis, but they are now available to everyone. It includes mythical creatures, such as wizards, fairies, mermaids and vampires. There are some new activities, such as rock climbing and curling.
You’ll also find new clothing elements just in time for the winter, such as gloves, scarf and trench coat. There are a handful of new animals and some new facial expressions. Exploding head might be my favorite one.
Overall, Apple promises 70 new emojis, which makes iOS compatible with Unicode 10.0. A couple of emojis have also been redesigned, such as the bee one.
As always, each emoji character comes in many variations with multiple genders and skin colors when it’s not an animal or an object. And for the first time, some characters are gender neutral.
This update alone is a great way to foster adoption rate. Many people install new iOS updates so that they can see and send new emojis. You don’t want to be left behind when it comes to emojis.
In other news, Apple is bringing back a tiny feature that many people probably don’t use. You can force-press on the left edge of the screen to dim the current app and launch the app switcher again. The company has also added a new gesture. If you force-press on the left edge and swipe, you’ll go straight to the next app. This gesture is much more efficient than double-pressing on the home button.
Finally, iOS 11 comes with a bunch of bug fixes and security updates. In particular, it fixes the KRACK vulnerability. If you’re already running iOS 11, you should update right away as this version should work better than the previous one. Maybe it’ll improve your battery life.
Don’t forget to backup your iPhone to iCloud or iTunes before updating. Then head over to the Settings app, tap General and Software Update.